EU preparing for Brexit failure, Barnier says

The EU is drawing up plans for a no deal Brexit scenario, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in an interview published on Sunday (12 November).

Talking to France’s Journal du Dimanche newspaper Barnier warned that people should prepare themselves for the possibility of Brexit talks collapsing.

“That’s not my preferred option … But it’s a possibility. Everyone has to prepare for it, states as businesses – we are technically preparing ourselves,” Barnier said.

The chief negotiator said after the latest round of talks last week that the UK needed to clarify its position on the divorce bill for talks to be able to move on to their next phase on future relations.

EU leaders will gather in December to assess whether Brexit negotiations have made enough progress on the key issues of the divorce money, the border of Northern Ireland, and citizens’ rights to start discussions on the future and trade…